Hillary Clinton earlier in the campaign season.
Less than a day after Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton has apparently decided to end her bid for the White House and begin shutting down her campaign, according to reports on Fox and ABC News. The decision was made, according to the two networks, after long discussions with her staff and her supporters. Still, as one Clinton supporter told TIME's Karen Tumulty shortly after the news broke, "It's not done with Bill or Hillary Clinton until it's done."
According to Fox, the New York Senator told a score of House Democratic supporters via conference call that the time had come "to bring the party together," saying there were "two wings in the party right now" and that she had to work to "unite them." Fox reported that the Clinton's staff was told that Friday would be their last work day.
On Wednesday night, the Clinton campaign released this statement. "Senator Clinton will be hosting an event in Washington, DC to thank her supporters and express her support for Senator Obama and party unity. This event will be held on Saturday to accommodate more of Senator Clinton's supporters who want to attend."
After Tuesday's final primaries in South Dakota and Montana, which Clinton and Obama split, the former First Lady had continued to sound as if she was fighting on, belying speculation earlier in the day that she was preparing to concede and dismaying some of her supporters who had been counseling an end to her campaign.